Random Musings of a Bibliophile

I LOVE Much Ado About Nothing . LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. That is 100% due to Beatrice and Benedick being one of my all time OTPs. (I've written about them before here and here .) There are parts of the story I would, of course, like to change for a more modern sensibility (such as everything with Hero and Claudio). I am therefore completely and irrevocably in love with McKelle George's clever retelling Speak Easy, Speak Love . She fixed everything I wanted fixed, and gave me things I never dreamed I wanted from the story but now can't live without. Benedick Scott is finished. He is saying good-bye to his old, privileged life and taking off to live the remainder of his days at the "boarding house" Hey Nonny Nonny! While making his escape to meet his friend Prince, a schoolmate named Claude  catches Ben leaving and tags along only to find himself completely captivated by Hey Nonny Nonny's young mistress Hero Stahr. Ben is unsurprised as he seems to be the only male...

Here are some shorter musings on recently read MG fantasy novels. The Lighthouse Between the Worlds   by Melanie Crowder Melanie Crowder is one of the most underrated MG/YA authors. She continuously writes excellent books, and she has such a range. This is an excellent example of what she is capable of. This book takes place in a multi-verse where the portal between the worlds is a lighthouse on the pacific coast. It is about imperialism, slavery, totalitarianism, and political rebellion. Those are important topics to tackle in a rather short MG novel, but Crowder handles it with finesse. The characters are well drawn and the action is exciting from start to finish. Snow & Rose  by Emily Winfield Martin This is a beautiful retelling of a tale many children are not familiar with because Disney hasn't touched it yet. It is perfect for fairy tale lovers who are new to reading novels. The chapters are short. The illustrations are gorgeous. Both Snow and Rose are layered...

I take the 2nd Friday of every month to highlight some upcoming releases I am looking forward to that I hope are Future Favorites. Feel free to do your own post, just please link back to my blog and tell me about your post in the comments. One look at this cover is really all I needed. But I read the synopsis anyway and that only made my desire for this book grow. Headstrong Anya is the daughter of the only Jewish family in her village. When her family's livelihood is threatened by a bigoted magistrate, Anya is lured in by a friendly family of Fools, who promise her money in exchange for helping them capture the last dragon in Kievan Rus. This seems easy enough—until she finds out that the scary old dragon isn't as old—or as scary—as everyone thought. Now Anya is faced with a choice: save the dragon, or save her family. Release Date: September 24, 2019 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Goodreads Guys, this one is a YA retelling of Mansfield Park,  whi...

The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe is a book I picked up on a whim at the bookstore when it first came out. I liked the cover. I thought it had an engaging premise. I went into it with a healthy does of trepidation because the execution could have gone so terribly wrong. Fortunately, Philippe is an excellent character writer, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent reading about Norris's adventures in Texas and high school. High school junior Norris Kaplan's life is ruined by his mother when she takes a job that requires them to leave the only home he has ever known in Montreal, Quebec. Moving is always hard, but Norris knows for him it will be harder than it's ever been for anyone else. Norris is moving to Texas. He will be a Canadian living in Texas. Not just a Canadian. A French Canadian who speaks fluent French. And not just your average run-of-the-mill French Canadian. A black son of Haitian immigrant parents French Canadian. If Norris has...

July is always a mad rush for as I'm beginning/preparing for another school year. But I did manage to get some good reading in, and one of those books is one of my favorites of the year so far. I read two non-fiction books this month and both of them are on the favorites board. Maybe I should read more non-fiction? Favorites of July: July in Numbers: New Reads: 7 Rereads: 2 MG: 2 YA: 3 Adult: 4 Fiction: 7 Non-Fiction: 2 Realistic Fiction: 6 Fantasy/Sci-Fi: 1 Here is the current TBR shelf: For those of you following each new exciting installment of "Brandy Reads Her Own Books", you will notice that....I bought more. Gasp. Shock. Awe. I miss the library though, so I'm going back this month. What new reads did you love in July?